I hate to say this but the best thing to do is bite the bullet and send it out for repair. A leaking header tank is probably the most dangerous thing to have. It'll cost about 400 bucks to be overhauled, but you'll have the confidence of the "yellow tag" to go anywhere without trouble. I think the replacement from Univair is about 1000, and even if you get a tank from a salvage yard, chances are it will be leaking in the same spot, which is probably where the shutoff valve attaches. (It's an Ercoupe sickness). Jack, I know it's hard to spend the big money, but my experience tells me that it's the best way. Good Luck. Al t; Jack Gocha wrote:
> Coupers > My fuselage fuel tank leaks and is in bad condition. I took it out and > found it had been previously repaired many times. It had: solder, epoxy > putty, RTV and fiberglass all over it. After spending about 10 or 12 hours > cleaning it down to what appears to be ternplate and solder. Ternplate is > what the first Coupes had for fuel tanks, > My coupe is a mod-D and is Serial Number 745. I called Univair and they > said tanks for the early ser. nos, are no longer available. > If I could find a safe way to solder the tank I would do it myself. One of > the manuals says to wash the tank with soap and water then to put some > Carbon tetrachloride in the tank (it was once used in fire extinguishers > and was called Pyrene). The problem is, I think Carbon-Tet is now illegal > and no longer available. I would be very hesitant to go near the tank with > a propane torch without it and don't know if using a large soldering iron > (if available) would be safe either. If I fill the tank with water it will > keep the solder from melting and flowing. > Anybody out there have a suggestion? > > Jack G.(U42, Utah) > Nio3JF, SN:745
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